Offhand is the correct spelling of the adjective meaning (1) improvised, or (2) performed without preparation. It is a single word with no hyphen. Offhanded, off-hand, and off-handed all appear often, but each can be replaced with the shorter, simpler offhand. And while offhanded is a superfluous word, offhandedly is the adverb corresponding to offhand—though offhand often functions adverbially on its own.
Examples
All the above-listed variants of offhand appear with differing degrees of frequency—for example:
One off-hand comment can send global markets soaring or plunging. [NPR]
This is the kind of offhanded reference to people with special needs that crops up from time to time, even in polite company. [Fox News]
His brash and bombastic style is sprinkled with off-handed comments about not disliking teacher … [Daily Record]
Off-hand is the most common one. It appears about a third as often as offhand.
Most editorially scrupulous publications use the one-word, unhyphenated offhand—for example:
Even his heavy political statements are delivered with an offhand charm … [Arizona Republic]
Such an offhand comment has made royal watchers fear for the health of the bride-to-be … [Scottish Daily Record]
It was an offhand hyperbolic comment on Twitter from Washington Post columnist Ezra Klen … [Sydney Morning Herald]
Both offhand and offhandedly work as adverbs—for example:
I offhandedly mentioned this, and his eyes widened. [Wall Street Journal]
Tollett didn’t say offhand how many checkpoints there would be … [Los Angeles Times]
By 1939, a New York restaurant guide recommended, rather offhandedly, a “Mixed Fish Soup Marinara Sauce” … [Independent]
